Villa linked to Baggies loanee enigma

The Daily Mail believe Villa are interested in bringing Marseille midfielder Morgan Amalfitano to Villa Park. Amalfitano was occasionally exceptional on loan at West Brom last season and Villa are supposedly in the running with other premier league clubs for his £2.5 million signature. The Baggies don't appear to be involved in the battle.

The 29-year-old lacked consistency but scored some incredible goals last season.

Many will question whether Villa actually have £2.5 million available to spend at this stage, with Lambert seemingly limited to the Bosman and loan market. It’s also a relatively easy link to make as Villa chased Amalfitano under Houllier. One attacking midfielder, Joe Cole, has already arrived at Villa Park this summer but the squad is still quite thin in that area.

Amalfitano’s ability to play across the midfield would be an asset. I would put him in a similar category to Anthony Pilkington and rumours that Villa could be after this type of player don’t surprise me. Creativity, ability to break teams down and versatility should be a priority. I don’t think anyone would mind seeing Lambert bring in another creative midfielder, but most would hope Villa show a little more ambition and imagination than targeting an unpredictable player from our rivals. Needs must though and with Villa’s limited budget, we could do worse than Amalfitano if other targets prove too expensive.